The Assassins pop up after four long years of lying low

James Trimble

A blast from the recent past appeared in the Falkirk Herald office this week – another mysterious package from those International Pop Assassins.

Much like that other famous hitman Jason Bourne – who has just made his big screen return – it was thought IPA and frontman Eddie McKenzie had gone underground for good.

However, with the current state of the music industry, it was only a matter of time before the Assassins showed up again to right the wrongs of the auto-tune generation.

The new album, the band’s fifth long player and its first in five years, is entitled We Believe in the Power of Rock and Roll to Move Heads, Hearts and Feet and it will be available on digital formats from August 29.

Speaking on a secure line from a safehouse/recording studio Eddie revealed he has turned his back on the spotlight of live performances which the band briefly enjoyed a few years ago, preferring to create music in secrecy and then unleash it on the public through the medium of recorded sound.

Eddie said: “The long gap between albums is a mixture of laziness, disinterest and quality control. This album could have been released three years ago, but we decided to live with it for a few months, and in that time you realise that some of the tracks aren’t quite as good as you first hoped.

“So you replace them, and decide to live with it for a few more months, and then do this once again. Before you know it, four years have gone by. However, you do have an album that you are 100 per cent happy with.

“Not playing live has been a blessing, allowing us to tackle new directions and sounds. The album does sound very programmed, but you’d be surprised at how many real instruments are on there.

“So here it is – ten songs designed to appeal to your intellect, your emotions, and your dancing shoes.”